It was moved
by Wieland, seconded by Senesac, to approve the minutes of the meeting of
January 8, 2002.The motion was
unanimously approved.

3.Public
Hearings

Public Hearing for Zoning Petition No. 482 – initiated by the Planning Commission, to zone
property at 1983 Penrod Road (the north side of Penrod Road west of Vance
Road) from Township zoning to Residential A-1 [see transcript].

Public Hearing for Zoning Petition No. 483 – initiated by the Planning Commission, to zone
property at 1610, 1616, and 1720 North Dublin Road (the east side of
Dublin Road north of Airport Road) from Township zoning to Residential A-1
[see transcript].

Public Hearing for Zoning Petition No. 484 – initiated by the Planning Commission, to zone
property on the east side of Jefferson at Oakbrook Court from Township
zoning to Residential A-1 [see transcript].

4.Public
Comments (not related to agenda items)

None.

5.Old
Business

a.Zoning
Petition No. 481 – the request of Nicolaos Rapanos
to rezone property on the southwest corner of South Saginaw Road and James
Savage Road from Business C to Industrial A.Chairman Geisler introduced the request and Mr. Lynch provided an
overview of the petition.Commissioners
discussed the petition and noted that it represented a “straight-forward”
request that fully complied with applicable review criteria.

It was moved by Wieland and seconded by Baker to recommend approval of
Zoning Petition No. 481 to the City Council.The vote proceeded as follows:

b.Petition
to vacate Goldenwood Drive at Hedgewood Drive– the petition of residents of the
Amberwood Subdivision, including Amberwood Court, Goldenwood Drive, and a
portion of Hedgewood Drive, requesting vacation of a potion of public
right-of-way to facilitate closure of Hedgewood Drive.The chairman introduced the petition and Mr.
Lynch provided a review of the previous public hearing.Mr. Lynch also pointed out that three new
letters regarding the petition had been received and that staff has supplied
the Commission with comments from the Traffic Engineer and data pertaining to
calls placed to 911.

Police Chief St. Louis was invited by Chairman Geisler to explain to the
Planning Commission whether this particular neighborhood is unique with respect
to the traffic issues being discussed.Chief St. Louis noted that streets in this area are very similar to
Dilloway, Lambrose, Plymouth and other collector streets in the City.He further noted that the Police Department
routinely handles requests for selective enforcement in these areas.The Chief also explained that sometimes there
is a perception of traffic speed that is not accurate.He touched on a recent speed study in a
different neighborhood that pegged average vehicle speed slightly below the
established speed limit.A similar speed
study has not been conducted in this neighborhood.

Commissioners discussed the information pertaining to calls placed to 911
and the role 911 plays in handling “nuisance” complaints.They also discussed the generally
deteriorating attitude of drivers in the community, increasing traffic volumes,
and the varied responsibilities of police officers.

When questioned about traffic calming alternatives Chief St. Louis
expressed a desire to “experiment” with such measures in neighborhoods that are
willing to try them.

Nina Lacey of 4907 Goldenwood Dr. informed the Commission that someone
had again driven across her lawn.She
has four small children and is concerned for their safety.She also stated that in 1997 and 1998 she and
her family routinely placed calls to 911 but that results were not satisfactory
so they simply stopped calling.

Mark Wisnowski of Goldenwood Dr. expressed his view that the neighborhood
is unique in that large apartment complexes surround it.

David Lovette of 4917 Hedgewood expressed sympathy for the plight of
these residents but objected to any form of street closure.He fears that traffic would be displaced and
volumes in front of his home would increase.

Simon Toth of 5007 Hedgewood informed the Commission that street closure
would certainly improve conditions in the neighborhood. He also noted that if average traffic speed is
at the speed limit, at least 50% of the vehicles are speeding.

Steven Graham of 3576 Oakbrook Court indicated that this matter appeared
to be an issue for the City Council.Mr.
Lynch explained that local ordinance requires a recommendation from the
Planning Commission when street vacations are considered.

Commissioners discussed the fact that the residents of this neighborhood
are experiencing real problems.However,
many neighborhoods deal with noise, traffic, tire tracks on the lawn, and fast
food wrappers.Members who personally
observed traffic in the neighborhood felt that most vehicles were from the
homes within the subdivision.This area
does not seem atypical with respect to traffic problems so, in that sense,
closing the street does not appear warranted.It was also noted that closing the street might simply move problems to
a different part of the City.

Members of the Commission also discussed the potential use of traffic
calming measures.They noted that this
area is unique in that the single-family neighborhood lies between apartment
complexes and the collector street.A
case study needs to be conducted in the City to determine if such measures will
work.They also viewed a speed study and
examination of calming devices as sound steps toward addressing the concerns
raised in connection with this petition.

It was moved by Slicker and
seconded by Senesac to recommend to the City Council that Hedgewood Street not
be closed but that traffic calming measures be evaluated an applied on a
temporary basis and that performance statistics be gathered for the purpose of
evaluating effectiveness of the calming measures.The vote proceeded as follows:

Chairman Geisler introduced a request to vacate Madison Street and that portion
of Burch Street north of Soper Street.Mr. Lynch provided a summary of the petition and explained that City
owned property held by the Currie Municipal Golf Course surrounds these
currently public streets.Vacating the
streets will make integration of the areas into the landscaping and their
subsequent maintenance much easier.

Commissioners pointed out that vacation requests typically don’t require
public hearings, but that in the case of the Hedgewood request, a hearing was
appropriate.In this case there are no
privately held parcels supported by the subject streets and the area will
likely be a golf course for the foreseeable future.

It was moved by Wieland and seconded by Slicker to recommend vacation of
Madison Street and Burch Street, north of Soper Street, the City Council.The vote proceeded as follows:

Mr. Lynch shared with the Commission those capital project expenditures
requested during the engineering priorities process that would result in
construction of new facilities.Staff
has evaluated the requests and determined that all of them are consistent with,
and in support of, the Master Plan.If
any members feel that requests do not support the Master Plan, they should
forward comments to the Planning Department and they will be transmitted to the
appropriate municipal department.

7.Communications

Chairman Geisler received a letter from the Planning Department regarding
Community Development Block Grant Funding.Mr. Lynch explained that he Planning Department has engaged in an
aggressive public information campaign regarding CDBG funds and that Planning
Commissioners were included on the information mailing list.

8.Report
of the Chairman

No
Report

9.Report of the Planning Director

The
Director reported on the following matters:

On
February 12th the Planning Commission will conduct three public
hearings and will deliberate on the three cases from the current meeting.

On
February 26th the Commission will conduct two public hearings and
will deliberate over the three items heard on February 12th.

Special
sessions include the January 24th Access Management seminar
sponsored by the Michigan Department of Transportation, the February 2nd
annual training day, and the February 6th kick-off meeting with
McKenna Associates.

10.Adjourn.

Adjournment at approximately 9:00 p.m. was moved by Slicker, seconded by
Senesac, and unanimously approved.